[HPforGrownups] In defense of Harry (was Re: Characters You Hate)

[Richelle Votaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 51303


Leslie wrote:

> > I hate Harry Potter.

>Jade wrote:
> I was wondering when someone would be brave enough to admit this 
> first (obviously not me *grin*). But I must agree with Leslie. I do 
> not like Harry Potter very much, I think he is self-centered, 
> thoughtless, very very nosey, and overall, not especially interesting 
> besides his extraordinary circumstances.
 
I find it almost amusing that there are fans of HP who don't actually like Harry.  I really don't think I could read the books if I didn't like him.  That said, is he really all that self centered?  He is often the center of attention, yes. But is he trying to make everything revolve around him?  I think not.  First of all, obviously the books *do* revolve around him, they are, after all, *Harry Potter* and the . . ..  But he doesn't sit around thinking everyone should give him attention.  From the first day of class when people were whispering about him everywhere, he wished they wouldn't.  Then there's Lockhart making a spectacle of him in class.  Harry hated it.  Colin following him around embarassing him by taking pictures.  Yet he was never as rough to Colin as I would've been.  Any time he's made the center of attention in classes, he's embarassed.  To me the only reason anyone could see Harry as self centered is because he is the center of the books and the books come from his point of view.  If you were to go inside anyone's mind, I'm sure things would seem self centered there as well.  

Now, is Harry really thoughtless? Does he really think only of himself?  He cringes every time anything to do with money comes up around the Weasleys.  He would gladly share his gold with them, if they'd have it.  He tried to give Mrs. Weasley his bag of gold galleons in GoF.  Before he tried Fred & George (who were a last resort).  When Ron was insisting Dumbledore must've given Harry the Firebolt, since he'd given him the Invisibility Cloak, Harry explained it away by saying he was only passing the cloak on, not really giving it to him.  That Dumbledore wouldn't have spent that kind of money on him.  He willingly let Ron carry his Firebolt upstairs to put it away when he got it back, most kids that age wouldn't want anyone else near it.  Not to mention how it was passed around the common room.  Plus all the time Ron spent riding the Firebolt while Harry walked around the edge of the field.  Thoughtless?  I think not.

Is he nosey?  Really?  There's nosey, and then there's curious.  It's all in the way you look at things.  Curiosity stems from a mind yearning to learn about a new world.  I wish my students had more curiosity.  For anything.  

As for not being especially interesting (other than being "the boy who lived"), is he supposed to be?  I think we're supposed to feel that he's just a little boy.  Just a normal teenager who has extraordinary circumstances surrounding him.

Well, enough said.  :)

Richelle


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